Arsenal are by far the biggest club in England to have never won a European trophy. Liverpool have six Champions Leagues, Manchester United three, Chelsea two and Manchester City one: even Tottenham have a Europa League/UEFA Cup.
Neither competition has been fruitful for the Gunners in the past but the biggest humiliations have consistently come in the UCL, despite an incredible record for qualifying under Arsene Wenger. And it doesn't look like ending any time soon.
How can one club have such a hoodoo?
Arsenal in the Champions League: 1998/99 – Group stage
It's always difficult in your first Champions League campaign. Few clubs really make a success of it first time around and Arsenal were no different, finishing behind Lens and Dynamo Kyiv.
Before anyone laughs at the Gunners, Dynamo were a force back then with Andriy Shevchenko, while Arsenal didn't play at Highbury, playing at Wembley instead. Still, Manchester United finishing second in their group and going on to win the tournament stings a little.
1999/2000 – Group stage
Once again, Arsenal played at Wembley; once again, they finished third. It was a stronger group, however, with Barcelona and a Gabriel Batistuta-led Fiorentina pipping the Gunners to the spots in the next round.
A new initiative saw third-placed sides drop into the UEFA Cup. Arsenal got to the final of that, where they lost on penalties to the unfancied Galatasaray. The curse in Europe continued.
2000/01 – Quarter-finals
Hurrah! Arsenal through the groups! An impressive win at Highbury (at last, Highbury!) against Lazio saw the Gunners top the group, with Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Prague also in the pool. Finally, some luck in the groups.
Yes, they made the quarter-finals before a defeat over two legs to Valencia. OK, there were only 16 teams in the competition – so that's a first knockout round exit – but progress nonetheless.
2001/02 – Second group stage
Again, progress for Arsenal, who once again qualified from their group – only just, though. The Gunners were drawn against Panathinaikos, Mallorca and Schalke, with the Greek side topping the group, Arsenal winning three and losing three, squeaking through level with Mallorca on goal difference.
UEFA introduced a second group stage this year, really embracing the 'League' in the Champions League. History may judge the Gunners – and Juventus – for flunking this round, as Bayer Leverkusen and Deportivo La Coruna went through but take our word for it: both teams were alright around this time, with Leverkusen knocking out Liverpool and United.
2002/03 – Second group stage
No problem in the first group against Borussia Dortmund, Auxerre and PSV. A little more trouble in the second, against Valencia, Ajax and Roma. You're sensing a pattern, right?
2003/04 – Quarter-finals
Arsenal have regrets in the Champions League but perhaps few more than 2003/04, when the Invincibles just needed to beat Chelsea, Monaco and then Porto to be European champions.
They'd done the hard work, too, knocking out Inter Milan in the groups emphatically and enduring tough Eastern European away days to top their group, before an efficient 5-2 aggregate win over Celta Vigo in the last-16. They even got a solid 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, with the home leg at Highbury.
Alas, an ordinary Chelsea side whom Arsenal had beaten twice in the league and again in the FA Cup, went and won 2-1, via Wayne Bridge's epic late winner.
2004/05 – Round of 16
Arsenal went unbeaten in the Champions League group stage, a season after the Invincibles' disappointment. They looked to have learned from the heartbreak and gained a little more experience under the lights.
…only for Bayern Munich to defeat them 3-1 at home. A 1-0 win wasn't enough to overturn the disappointment in Bavaria: bookmark this one for future reference.
2005/06 – Runners-up
Ask Arsenal fans for their biggest heartbreak and this ranks as the No.1 for 90 per cent. There's a fair case that they were robbed, 'n' all.
The sale of Patrick Vieira enabled Wenger to recalibrate and build a new team that could dominate teams on the continent with a midfield five. Thierry Henry was a lone striker in this side, which was defensively more secure: and it worked, with Arsenal knocking out Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal en route to the final in Paris, with Jens Lehmann setting a record for the longest time without conceding goal in this competition.
In the final against Barcelona, Lehmann brought down Samuel Eto'o and was sent off: only Barça scored following the foul. Instead of giving the goal, the referee wrongly sent off the German, leaving Arsenal having to play the rest of the final with 10 men. Sol Campbell put them ahead, Henry missed a golden chance for a second… and Andres Iniesta changed the game to win the Catalans their second UCL.
2006/07 – Round of 16
You'd think that getting to one Champions League would be the push that Arsenal needed to build on their work on the continent. A first season at the Emirates Stadium ended in disappointment, however, for the previous season's finalists – at the hands of PSV.
After topping their group – yet only winning three games – Arsenal were beaten 1-0 in Eindhoven and couldn't win at home, drawing 1-1 with the Dutch giants. Henry struggled with injury in what was his last campaign in north London, as Wenger oversaw a transition season with his side.
2007/08 – Quarter-finals
Much improvement in 2008. Arsenal won their opening three group games, qualified with relative ease and looked much stronger for their past woes – though finishing second in the group to Sevilla really hampered them. They drew Milan in the next round and beat the holders 2-0 on aggregate. As they'd done in their dismantling of Inter, they became the first English team to beat the Rossoneri away from home.
Then came Liverpool. The two games were sandwiched between a Reds-Gunners Premier League clash and were suitably box office: Arsenal looked like heading through on away goals six minutes from time following a majestic Theo Walcott run to set up Adebayor… before Kolo Toure was adjudged to have fouled Ryan Babel for a penalty.
Steven Gerrard dispatched; Babel added another. Arsenal went out 4-2 on the night, with Wenger questioning a “dodgy decision” and his own side's defensive naivety. Another bitter learning curve.
2008/09 – Semi-finals
2008/09 will go down as a bizarre season for the Gunners. They haven't gone this far in Europe in the 18 years since Paris – and yet it felt like a bang-average campaign in many respects, where they drew four straight league games 0-0, finished nine points behind Chelsea in third and provided very few moments that would live in the memory across the season as a whole.
A decent group showing against Dynamo Kyiv, Fenerbahce and Porto saw them finish second in their group to draw Roma, who Wenger's men only just beat on penalties in the second leg. Then came Villarreal, who Arsenal comfortably knocked out 4-1 on aggregate… before Manchester United.
This was the Ronaldo-inspired Red Devils era, with the eventual Premier League champions beating the Gunners home and away. They reached the final four but certainly didn't feel like one of the best teams in Europe.
2009/10 – Quarter-finals
A decent showing in the group stage once more extended Wenger's run of knockout fixtures in Europe, as Arsenal were drawn against Porto once more. A narrow loss in Portugal was followed by the Gunners thrashing them 5-0 at the Emirates, to set up a tie with Barcelona.
Arsenal drew 2-2 at the Emirates in what was a precarious position to be in heading to Camp Nou – later confirmed by Lionel Messi scoring four times in the return leg and putting in one of the most godlike displays in his entire career. It marked the last time that Arsenal fans would see a quarter-final in quite some time.
2010/11 – Round of 16
Arsenal had only themselves to blame finishing second in a group in which they'd thrashed opponents 6-0 and 5-1, ruing their own complacency and drawing Barcelona in the following round. They certainly don't blame themselves for the way they exited to the Catalans this time around, though.
The last-16 first-leg is one of their most celebrated 90 minutes in recent history, with a teenage Jack Wilshere running the show against Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, as Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners. In the away leg, however, Robin van Persie received a harsh second yellow for kicking a ball away, with the scores poised at 1-1: eventually, Arsenal caved to a 3-1 loss on the night, sending them home in controversial circumstances.
2011/12 – Round of 16
Another season, another tie of two halves for Wenger's boys. Arsenal finished top of their group to draw Milan – where they were hammered 4-0 in the San Siro. It was all but over at half-time.
The Gunners clawed themselves back into the tie, going three goals up in the return leg's first half in north London. That all-important fourth goal, however, evaded them.
2012/13 – Round of 16
Defeats against Schalke and Olympiacos in the group stage nailed Arsenal to second in their group, giving them a tougher tie for the last-16, once again, this time, with Bayern Munich the opponents. They very nearly did it, though.
Bayern beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates to give the north Londoners a mountain to climb – and this being the age of away goals, a sterling 2-0 win in Bavaria wasn't enough to save them from elimination. You're getting the gist now, right?
2013/14 – Round of 16
In a tough group, Arsenal finished on goal difference above Napoli to set up yet another encounter with Bayern – and once again, one leg let them down.
The Gunners matched the Champions League holders stride for stride at home – and could have been ahead, had Mesut Ozil not missed a penalty. But just before the break, Wojciech Szczesny was sent off, and with Bayern a man up they were too strong in the second half and won 2-0. A 1-1 draw in the return wasn't enough to salvage anything.
2014/15 – Round of 16
Again, Arsenal finished second in their group, with fans who were at the Emirates for the game against Anderlecht perhaps still perplexed as to how they bottled a three-goal lead against the Belgian minnows to let Aleksandar Mitrovic net an equaliser on 90 minutes.
Still, Wenger was dealt a slice of luck in drawing the unfancied Monaco in the next round… only for the curse to continue. Somehow, Arsenal were beaten 3-1 at home, with Olivier Giroud enduring one of the most frustrating nights a Gunners striker has ever had, skewing and slicing opportunity after opportunity. Of course, they won 2-0 in Montecarlo and exited on away goals once more, didn't they?
2015/16 – Round of 16
With Bayern Munich drawn in the group stage, Arsenal fans somewhat resigned themselves to second place, where they'd likely face holders Barcelona, given their luck. Guess what happened next.
This time, there was no shred of comfort with one leg making the Gunners look unlucky. Messi barely made it out of third gear at the Emirates as Barça won 2-0, while Luis Suarez and Neymar both netted in a 3-1 win in Catalona. As did Mohamed Elneny, with a screamer, bizarrely.
2016/17 – Round of 16
Finally, Arsenal finished top of their group, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain in second. This just happened to be the one season that Bayern would finish second in theirs, wouldn't it?
Of course, Arsenal drew Die Roten. In the first leg, Arsenal were at 1-1 at one stage; in the second, they'd go a goal up. But two 5-1 losses sent the Gunners home 10-2 on aggregate, with Arsene Wenger's Champions League career ending on a low note. He remains third to only Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson for games managed in the competition – yet never got to lift Old Big Ears.
2017-2023 – The Wilderness Years
Some assumed Arsenal's break from Europe's top table would be fleeting. Yet they were some of the toughest years for supporters in a generation.
Wenger's swansong came in the Europa League semi-finals to eventual champions Atletico Madrid in 2017/18, where he'd see his side battle valiantly but come up short against Diego Simeone; a year later, Unai Emery would go a step further, as Arsenal were humiliated 4-1 in Baku by London rivals, Chelsea.
While Europe has been less of a concern for Mikel Arteta, his record in the Europa left a lot to be desired, too. 2019/20 saw Arsenal crash out in the Round of 32 to Olympiacos, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spurning a sitter late on, while 2020/21 pitted the Gunners against Emery's Villarreal in the semi-finals, where Arsenal couldn't overturn a 2-1 defeat in Spain back in north London.
After a year's absence in 2021/22, another painful result came in the quarters in 2023. The Gunners lost on penalties against an unfancied Sporting – but the real kicker came with the loss of Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba ahead of the Premier League run-in. A team that managed 50 points in the first half of the season recorded just 84 without key men in the side – but hey, at least they got into the Champions League again.
2023/24 – Quarter-finals
After winning their group at a canter, Arsenal lost away to Porto and feared the worst, all those years of hurt flashing in front of their eyes. But a penalty shootout later, they have another opportunity to banish some demons, against a Bayern Munich side who have been nothing short of woeful this season.
Are times changing? Can the Gunners finally buck the curse?
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